'Besides the advantages I have named, broad soles are much handsomer
than narrow ones. They make the foot look smaller. If one puts his
foot into a shoe too short, and too narrow, and the toes and sides
of the foot press out all around over the sole, it makes the foot
look big; but if the sole be large enough to let the foot rest in
its natural relations, it looks much smaller. We men wear boots,
often, with broad soles that project well on both sides. Such boots
are thought to be particularly stylish.